COLUMBINE MASACRE
I received great reviews after this letter was sent to a significant number of people.
2008 December 1
To Whom It May Concern:
I chose the introduction from the following report, “The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective,” to help give an understanding of my position as a parent who is concerned for her son and the safety of other children in our New Hampshire and nation’s schools. The enclosed letters were written shortly after the Columbine massacre. Also, the letters are a part of the NCAVC threat assessment-intervention model which can be found online.
My specific point in writing this letter about school bullying is to bring attention to the fact that we need an emphasis on school accountability and more intervention with the high level bullying happening in our schools in New Hampshire and across this nation. Every state needs strong anti-bullying laws that are going to be enforced by the administrators running our school systems. Every state needs mandatory school personnel training and awareness which include parents and students once a year and through out the year, as the A-plus states require. Information about A-plus states concerning anti-bullying laws and programs can be found at bullypolice.org
School safety also includes the safety of students on school buses. Eighty percent of our children are bullies/abusers, targets of bullying, or witness bullying as bystanders, at school or on the bus. That number is too high. The percentage is also high for students who have been severely bullied, and then in turn, will become bullies themselves or seek revenge. When students step on a bus or walk into a school, it is the responsibility of the school to make sure that our children have a safe and constructive environment.
Let us together as individual states and as a nation stop the cycle of abuse in our schools and buses. I believe a strong anti-bullying law for all states would start protecting our children.
Janet Reno states, “We will be in a position to protect innocent school children before they become senseless victims.” My son suffered acute psychological trauma as a result of an allowed bully. My son is not the only victim by this allowed bully. This nation has many school abusers who prey on their victims.
Brenda High, Founder of Bully Police USA, like many others, believes New Hampshire can do better than a grade “C” for its anti-bullying laws. She stated, “C law in a state as beautiful as New Hampshire is unacceptable. Both Kentucky and New Hampshire are conservative states. Kentucky has a grade of A++ anti-bullying laws and many school children would benefit if New Hampshire could follow Kentucky’s model.” With an updated law, New Hampshire could lead New England in bully awareness and prevention. For an understanding of how each state is graded for its anti-bullying laws, please go to BullyPolice.org and see how each state is graded.
Brenda’s two websites, JaredStory.com and BullyPolice.org, are both ranked 4 out of 10 on Google, with over 100K hits per month. With millions of websites on the internet, that’s extraordinary. People are seeking to find information or a solution for the allowed victimization of bullies/abusers that is taking place in our school systems and buses. Brenda, like others, states, “Bullying is an adult problem.”
Initially, my son suffered acute psychological trauma as a result of being bullied. The school my son attended a School in NH., negligently breached its duty to protect its students from the risk of harm presented by the abuser, “No Name,” long standing behavioral problems. The bully crossed the line and from bullying to assault. Legal council indicated that the school district will not hold “NO Name” accountable since dealing with the issue at hand is more difficult compared to dealing with my son. My son has not been the only target by the allowed abuser. There are others who are too scared to come forward.
It is a known fact that most cases of bullying will not be reported because of fear of retaliation and lack of response by adults even if the bullying is reported. My son was retaliated against after he told the first time. My son endured the bullying for 6 months. Once the school year ended, my son felt safe enough to tell because he knew the abuser could not hurt him any more.
I met with the School, along with a representative from the district for close to three hours on July 14, 2008. After close to three months, I never received any kind of response from the school or district. I initiated a response in October 5, 2008. The school and school district did not act accordingly. Interestingly, as of this date, the principal for the School, who prides himself as having the very best school, has not made any attempt himself to amend the situation.
Interestingly, the principal, as of April 2009, specifically told a parent how his school does NOT have a bullying problem.
When it comes to safety or health of a child, student or anyone else, it is one’s duty to act accordingly. This is very important concerning people from an authoritative/administrative position. The same holds true for people in any kind of governmental or public service position, especially those people elected by the people.
I can proudly state that Brenda High, along with many others, nationally, are advocating for my family as well as this nation. We are working towards bringing about positive change by passing anti-bullying laws that will hold schools accountable, require trianing, teach prevention and create awareness.
The bullying that is allowed to take place in our schools and buses across this nation need to end. One of the legistlature’s highest priorities must be to protect our children from violence by dealing with harrassment, including “bullying,” of all forms, in our school systems. Strikingly, the affects of psychological abuse can have a greater impact on a person comparable to physical abuse.
The following references are taken, with permission by the author, from a thesis about the repercussions of bullying completed in 2006:
Statistically, there is little research available for the outcome of the abusers or the targets of abuse. However, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are good examples of what can go wrong when dealing with abusers and targets as a result of bullying. The term bullying has been defined as a “systematic abuse of power” (Rigby, 2002, as cited in Smith, 2004, p.98), as well as repeated aggressive behaviours used to purposely harm others who are unable to protect themselves against abuse (Olweus, 1999, as cited in Smith, 2004). Often, there is an imbalnce of power, the bullies being the more powerful, and the acts of bullying are ways for the bully to create and hold a position of status, as well as dominance over their victims. In addition, the behaviors of bullies are intended to cause humiliation, fear and abuse towards their victims (Smokowski & Kopasz, 2005).
Programs and policies to stop bully behaviors have become a part of the schools; however, laws may not be effective because administrators are not following through with the intended policies and laws. Researchers believe that zero-tolerance and anti-bullying laws may not be the answer to the problem of bullying within the schools (Hurst, 2005). Success of any program or anti-bullying laws means that school administrators and people from an authoritative position must be held accountable.
Bullying is very “destructive” (Seals & Young, p.1). Suicide is the most severe repercussion of bullying (Hurst, 2005). The consensus is that students must become involved in activities and administrators and teachers must become involved in “pro-social peer pressure and interventions” (Rigby as cited in Hurst, p.3) rather than ignore the problem of bully/abuser.
Laws must be enforced and must be implemented concerning bullying. A safe learning environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. The school my son attened did not provide a safe learning environment. As long as there are other victims, I will continue to be a voice for those students who are unable to attend a safe learning environment while at school.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it”……Albert Einstein
References
Aspen Publishers. (2003). Bullies found to be at risk for violent behavior. Inside School Safety: Effective Management Strategies for School Administrators, 8(2).
Hurst, M.D. (2005). When it comes to bullying, there are no boundaries. Education Week, 24(22), 8.
Seals, D.; Young, J. (2003). Bullying and young adult self-esteem and loneliness. Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 67, 35-44.
Smith, P.K. (2004). Bullying: Recent developments. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 9(3), 98-103.
Smokowski, P.R.; Kopasz, K.H. (2005). Bullying in school: An overview of types, effects, family characteristics and intervention strategies. Children & Schools, 27(2), 101-110.